United Defense Installs First WaterSentry Security Alert System for Commercial and Military Use

United Defense Industries, Inc. (NYSE:UDI), along with
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has completed the first commercial and
military installations of the WaterSentry(TM) monitoring system at
facilities in Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee.
   WaterSentry(TM) is the first product to automatically and
continuously test for chemical toxins that have been introduced into
water supplies. It is a fully automated system that continuously tests
algae activity. Within minutes, the system can detect the presence of
a chemical contaminant and provide an immediate alert to a remotely
located control station.
   "WaterSentry(TM) is a new approach to quickly detect toxic
chemicals in large-scale, primary- source drinking water supplies for
homeland security and regulatory use. We believe it to be the only
water sensor of its kind. It is fully automated, easily maintained,
and reduces the need for personnel to go to sites to manually test
water," said Steve McCarter, Manager Business Development/Security
Systems for United Defense. "The installation of WaterSentry(TM) will
help secure the source of drinking water for millions of households.
WaterSentry is always on the alert, warning of potential problems that
can be minimized with early intervention."
   United Defense integrated Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL)
AquaSentinel technology into WaterSentry under an exclusive license.
The system employs ORNL technology to continuously and automatically
test for chemical toxins by measuring algae fluorescence.
   The Department of Energy's (DOE) Basic Energy Sciences program
funded the basic research on photochemistry before the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency funded the initial application as
biosensors. Development of WaterSentry and the integration of ORNL's
AquaSentinel technology was funded by United Defense through DOE's
Work for Others program.

   About United Defense

   United Defense designs, develops and produces combat vehicles,
artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and precision munitions used
by the U.S. Department of Defense and allies worldwide, and provides
non-nuclear ship repair, modernization and conversion to the U.S. Navy
and other U.S. Government agencies. To learn more about United
Defense, visit http://www.uniteddefense.com.

   Forward-Looking Statements

   Information in this release may involve guidance, expectations,
beliefs, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These
forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. All
forward looking statements included in this release are based upon
information available to United Defense Industries, Inc., as of the
date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update any such
forward looking statements. The statements in this release are not
guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ
materially from our current expectations. Numerous factors could cause
or contribute to such differences. Please refer to the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and
in our other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for a further discussion of the factors and risks
associated with our business.